{Favorite Things Friday} - Gift Exchange

At the beginning of the month I found out about an online gift exchange and thought it sounded fun so I signed up.  About a week later I was notified who I was supposed to make a gift for and was able to write to her and get to know her a bit.  I also was contacted by who got me so she could find out a little about me.  I had a hard time deciding what to make but finally decided on this measuring tape bag and a rosette pin that she could wear as a brooch.  She recently got married and indicated that one of her favorite colors was pink so I thought it'd be fun to make her these items from material from my own wedding quilt.  I mailed them off today.  I hope she likes them and I can't wait to see what I get in the mail!

{Money Saving Monday} - Always check your receipt!

So a Family Dollar opened in the next town over last Thursday and it was quite the stir.  People were lined up in the parking lot before they opened and some of the really good sale items sold out in just minutes.  I didn't make it until right before noon but was pleased with the selection and think it will be handy to pick things up there as I need them.  They were running a special of $5 off a $25 purchase so I decided to blow $20 and get a few things.  Among my items were a couple of camp chairs since we don't own any and needed them for the upcoming town parade.  I also got some candy and a few little things to get the total to $25.  When I checked out somehow it didn't add up as I anticipated and I thought maybe I'd done the math wrong in my head but as I walked out the door and was examining my receipt I noticed that only one chair rang up at the sale price and the candy didn't ring up on sale either.  The price difference was $5 and so since the line had dried up, I turned around and went back in and asked for an adjustment.  Of course, this being the first day they were opened no one in the store knew how to help me and I ended up standing there for at least 10 minutes and finally had to explain to them how to do it.  They didn't completely follow my suggestion so their inventory will be off but in the end I was credited the right amount.  Such a pain not to have things ring up at the right price.  I hate it when that happens.  A couple weeks ago I splurged and got a gallon of chocolate milk since it was on sale but then when I got home I noticed that it rang up at full price.  Not cool when this happens.  Remember when you used to get the item free when you were charged the wrong price and then they would make sure it was corrected in the system so no one else would be overcharged?  I think I'll be more diligent about checking my receipt from now on.

{Whatever Wednesday} - Now appearing at flip!

Saturday, when I walked to the post office to get the mail I noticed that the hair salon was having a "garage sale" in the back of their shop so I went around to the back of the building to check it out.  I found a couple of things that I was interested in but didn't have any cash on me so I couldn't get anything.  Yesterday, when I went to check the mail I popped in the shop and asked if the sale stuff was still out and if I could get something and she said it was, so I picked up a flannel sheet and told her that I was going to make baby blankets and burp cloths out of it for a present.  She noticed that I had some handmade stuff on the stroller and pointed out that half of her shop is a gift shop and that I was welcome to put some of my stuff for sale there.  So today I took over a basket of all the headbands that I have in stock.  It's harder for me to go to shows now that I have a baby in tow although he's been a champ and slept through the two shows I've done so far this year.  I have a lot of product in stock so I'm happy to have somewhere to display it.  I've always wanted to sell my items on commission in a store and feel lucky that this fell into place so easily.  She wants me to bring more stuff as well.  I ordered new business cards today to make it easier to label everything.  The headbands are in a basket on the counter so I hope they will sell well.  If you are in the area, stop by flip next to the Cowley Post Office to check it out.

{Tutorial Tuesday} - Machine Embroidery

I'm still working on sewing up cloth books - 3 down and 2 more to go.  As you can see this quiet book has a name plate for the owner's name.  Since I'm lucky enough to have a sewing machine that does a bit of embroidery I thought that would be the easiest way to add a name.  I haven't done machine embroidery very many times and it's been a while so I practiced on scrap fabric a couple of times to see how much room the name would take and then I sewed on the project.  Silly me still had the walking foot on and the letters ended up getting all messed up so I had to rip it out (what I was trying to avoid by practicing) and start over again.  This time I used the foot that my machine recommended and also pinned 2 layers of fabric under where the embroidery was going to be to reinforce the area.  The "E" shifted a bit but overall it turned out good enough to keep.  I really should think of more projects I can do to utilize this feature of my machine.

{Money Saving Monday} - veryjane

One of my favorite daily deal sites is veryjane.  They specialize in handmade crafts, crafting supplies and other items craft lovers might be interested in.  Almost every day I'm tempted by one of their offers.  I've bought a few of their deals since I've signed up to receive their emails and follow them on facebook.  Every so often they offer a "free" pair of earrings (you just have to pay shipping).  This was the first deal I ordered.  I got these adorable pink cabochon earrings which I wear all the time.  Later, they offered supplies to make your own cabochon jewelry so I snatched that deal up as well but as you can see I haven't assembled the jewelry yet.  One of the many items on my never ending craft to do list.  If you love daily deal sites and you love crafts I recommend signing up to follow veryjane to get some of the best deals around and things you are sure to love.

{Thankful Thursday} - Happy 4th Anniversary

Today I'm thankful to be celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary!

{Whatever Wednesday} - Finished is better than perfect!

I bought some cloth books when they were clearing out the fabric in the AZ Wal-Marts a few years ago.  Even though I wasn't pregnant at the time, I was hoping to be again and bought one each of the styles they had available.  (They were Mary Englebreit how could I resist?)  Last week I finally decided to try to tackle the project.  I've never been that confident in my sewing abilities and I'd never made cloth books before but thought it was high time I give it a try.  I have to say that I'm not really a fan of making these.  The panels weren't printed square so they didn't line up when I was trying to sew them together and then of course the book ends up being really thick so sewing the pages together was difficult as well.  But I've read the book several times to my little one and he even was interested in helping turn the pages so it will do.  It's nice to have one of my many ufos (unfinished objects) actually completed.  I still have 4 more cloth books and 999 other projects to do.  Better get going...

{Tutorial Tuesday} - Baby Bow Tie

I'd meant to applique some ties to some white onesies I got for Jasper to wear to church but of course hadn't gotten to it yet and he's already outgrown the little church pants I made him.  I'd come across various tutorials for bow ties and had been thinking about that as well.  On Memorial Day a niece mentioned that Jasper needed a bow tie and a couple weeks ago at church a talk was quoted about dressing your child as a missionary for church so that finally set me into action.  Sunday morning I made a cute little bow tie in less than 5 minutes.  (No kidding!)  I mainly followed the tutorial I found here.  I cut the larger piece 4 1/2" x 9" but the smaller piece only needed to be 2" x 2 1/4" since I cut the piece that she mentioned in half.  Even though I plugged in the glue gun, since I had a threaded needle sitting right there I ended up sewing it instead.  After I formed the bow I took a couple stitches through the pleats to hold them in place and then I added the middle part and stitched the ends closed and then I sewed on the pin.  tada!  So cute!  Sadly only a couple of people saw it though since amazingly he slept straight through all three hours of church and I just had a couple of people peek at him to see his cuteness.  He'll be wearing it again next week for sure!

{Money Saving Monday} - Free Father's Day Greeting Card

I love how easy it is to make and send photo greeting cards online. It's even better now that I have a baby so I always have plenty of cute pictures to put on the cards. There is often codes to create and mail a free card. Just so happens there's a code right now to make a free Father's Day card. If you haven't done this yet, give it a try. I'm sure you'll love it. You can either upload your own pics or use your pics already uploaded to facebook. Easy peasy!

{Favorite Things Friday} - Hand Sewing Rosettes

I started making these rosettes a couple of years ago and I just can't get enough.  I worked on these headbands today since I'm in a boutique next Sat. and it always helps to have a wide variety for my clients to choose from.  They are really fun to make.  I really enjoy sewing them.